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Spotlight: Janis Joplin
Janis Lyn Joplin (January
19, 1943 – October 4, 1970)
was an American blues-influenced
rock singer and occasional
songwriter with a distinctive
voice. Joplin released four
albums as the frontwoman
for several bands from 1967
to a posthumous release
in 1971.
Joplin is now remembered
best for her powerful, distinctive
voice — her rasping, overtone-rich
sound was significantly
divergent from the soft
folk and jazz-influenced
styles that were common
among white artists at the
time — as well as for her
lyrical themes of pain and
loss. To many she personified
that period of the Sixties
when the San Francisco sound,
along with (then considered)
outlandish dress and life
style jolted the country.
Few forget her appearance
on the Dick Cavett show
with an obviously delighted
Dick Cavett. [1] The genuineness
of her personality always
came across in press interviews,
for better or worse. And
who can't be touched by
the film coverage of her
return to Port Arthur for
her ten-year high school
reunion.
Joplin's contributions
to the rock idiom were long
overlooked, but her importance
is now becoming more widely
appreciated, thanks in part
to the recent release of
the long-unreleased documentary
film Festival Express, which
captured her at her very
best. Janis's scorching
vocal style, her flamboyant
dress sense, her outspokenness
and sense of humour, her
liberated stance (politically
and sexually) and her strident,
hard-living "one of
the boys" image all
combined to create an entirely
new kind of female persona
in rock. Ironically, it
is clear in retrospect that
much of Janis' flamboyant
image and outrageous behaviour
masked deep-seated insecurities.
More: Wikipedia about Janis
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